Until death due us part
by blazeing sky
Summary: There is a new girl at Cross Academy. What are her intentions? How can she control fire and yet be human, and why does she seem to know Zero? summery sucks, a little one sides Adioxoc and Kainxoc at the end
1. New Arrival

((I really need a beta reader...i wrote this story after reading the first three novels, and when i was just getting into the story. for that, names may be wrong. please bare with me and tell my when that is such and i will take notice. be kind and review. constructive critisims is appreshiated but flames are not. i will likely ignore them. My spelling stinks and grammer is worse. enjoy

p.s i do not own Vampire Knight. i only Own Arashi))

The dark spires of the Moon Dormitory glinted in the flashes of lightening as one lone car crashed down the road. Rain lashed at the windows and the headlights seemed unable to pierce more than a few feet into the darkness, but onwards it careened through the tempestuous night. The chauffer displayed no hesitation, pressing the accelerator as if the very demons of hell were hard on his rear bumper. His young passenger sat motionless and silent in the back, giving no indication that she noticed either the storm or the driver's reckless antics.

"Almost there, Miss," he called over his shoulder to the statue posfing as a humfan behind him. The man received no reply, and sighed heavily at the lack of sound. It allowed for too much attention to be paid to the horrendous storm outside throwing itself at his small car, threatening to blow it off the road.

At long last, the gates of Cross Academy appeared and the half of the poor driver's nerve-wracking trek was over once he slid to a stop before the cold, iron bars. The girl noiselessly exited the vehicle, removed her luggage from the rear compartment, and stood alone before the barred school grounds in the torrential downpour, as the driver turned around and happily rid himself of the bleak scenery.

There was no doorbell to ring, no button to press, and the slippery metal bars did not look as though they would yield willingly to a simple push. The girl continued standing there, her shoulder-length silver strands plastered to her head. Never mind that the wind still howled as ferociously as before, she stood there, unwavering.

"KYAAAA!!!" A loud scream ripped through the stormy dusk. Without a doubt, a sound this loud, coming from a large multitude of girls at Cfross Academy, could mean only one thing: the Night Class was coming out. It was the same thing every night, and the exhausting ritual never failed to frustrate the two "guardians" of the school, or disciplinary committee members, Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu. No matter how many times the squealing, fainting, generally annoying fan girls saw the beautiful members of the Night Class walk out of their dorms; they couldn't help but disturb the peace with their ear-piercing shrieks every single time.

Of course, the school's guardians were not present every evening to protect the Night Class from little girls. They were there to protect the Night Class's secret: the Night Class was made up entirely of vampires. It was no wonder they were so beautiful to behold. They were supernatural creatures. Who wouldn't want to stare at that? Meanwhile, struggling to outdo the Day Class girls' happy cries, the wind gusted and the rain poured harder than before.

Amidst all this commotion, one lone Day Class girl with a soaked white band around her arm identifying her as a member of the disciplinary committee attempted to gain everyone's attention with a small, silver whistle and yelled out, "Due to dangerous weather conditions, all Day Class students are asked to immediately report back to their dorms! I repeat, report back to your dorms!" Yuki instantly saw dozens of angry glares being thrown her way. Flinching just a little, she reassumed her "stern" face and shouted again, "Everyone inside, NOW!"

There was some general grumbling about going in after waiting all day for this event, but everyone quickly sprinted away when the other school guardian, Kiryu, suddenly appeared behind Yuki and gave a glare of his own that far outdid any of the angry fan girls'. (The flash of lightening highlighting every scary shadow on Zero's face didn't hurt either.)

With the courtyard finally free of ignorant human witnesses, one lone vampire stepped forward from the crowd of them and commandingly pointed towards the gate. "Aido, Kain, go let our visitor in. The poor thing's been waiting in this rain for quite a while." Watching the one called Aido run off just a little too enthusiastically, he added, "Aido," glancing at his momentarily frozen form, "Behave."

Kain followed along behind his cousin at a much more leisurely pace, musing over the motives that must be prompting their leader's strange actions. Needless to say, he was trying to understand the mind of a very complex vampire, for Kaname Kuran was no ordinary creature of the night. While Akatsuki Kain and his cousin Hanabusa Aido were of vampire nobility, Kuran was one of the few and powerful purebloods. His blood was not tainted by a trace of a human's. Obviously, this made him the leader of the vampires around him, and, naturally, he was also the President of the Moon Dorm where the vampires of Cross Academy lived, peacefully.

"Why would Kaname-sama send us out to open the gates instead of Yuki or Kiryu? They're the school's guardians. They should be the ones welcoming guests…" Kain mumbled to himself. The rain was soaking his uniform and running down his shoulders and chest thanks to his constantly unbuttoned shirt and jacket. In this weather, buttoned or unbuttoned didn't really make any difference, but the extra wetness was troublesome all the same. "Hey, Aido!" Kain called. "Can you let the kid in alone? I need some dry clothes!"

Aido didn't respond. In fact, he stood before the still-closed gates as if frozen. He understood why Kaname-sama had sent his two right-hand vampires instead of the mortal committee members. Even behind the safety of the iron bars, it was all Aido could do not to tremble. The girl wasn't even looking at him yet. She was still gazing at the ground, but her aura seeped into everything and everyone around her. And it pierced his soul. He could feel the power behind it. It was being dulled, held back, controlled, but he could feel it. Then, just as suddenly as the wave had hit him, it was gone, as if it had never been there.

"Begging your pardon, sir," a soft, firm voice wafted through the rain, ringing clearly in Aido's ears, "but is this Cross Academy?" For the first time she looked up at the people before her. The one standing directly in front of her was still recovering from her momentary lapse in control. She would need to remedy that little problem very soon.

The other boy who had walked out with this first one was just becoming clear through the sheets of rain. Those purple eyes searched for the cause of his cousin's strange behavior, but she would make sure they did not find it. It would make things much more difficult for her later on.

"You! What're you doing out here?" Kain yelled as he reached the gates, all thoughts of manners gone from his mind in light of Aido's shocked stance. The girl was staring at him rather intently, and it was more than a little disconcerting. The stormy gray depths of her eyes matched the storm they were standing in, and, Kain suspected, held just as many mysteries as a dark, stormy night could conceal. Her appearance as a whole was strangely familiar. Silver hair and gray eyes, a little bit on the tall side….who did that remind him of?

Bowing slightly and allowing her dripping strands to mask her face yet again, the girl calmly replied, "My apologies. I should have introduced myself sooner. My name is Arashi Kiryu. I am a new student here in the Day Class."


	2. A sister!

((I really need a beta reader...i wrote this story after reading the first three novels, and when i was just getting into the story. for that, names may be wrong. please bare with me and tell my when that is such and i will take notice. be kind and review. constructive critisims is appreshiated but flames are not. i will likely ignore them. My spelling stinks and grammer is worse. enjoy

p.s i do not own Vampire Knight. i only Own Arashi))

**Chapter 2**

Kaname Kuran had felt her presence as soon as he stepped outside. She was struggling to control it, to conceal it, but he sensed it, even dimmed as it was. He had felt something else in her before he had gone two steps into the rain: she was a killer. He couldn't send his dear girl, Yuki, to face this stranger until he knew more, and she had felt so strong that he didn't want to chance sending in anyone less than his most powerful vampires. Even Kiryu, a human-turned-vampire, might not be enough if the girl turned out to be an enemy.

Kain stood there, almost as frozen as Aido, although the normally energetic, bubbly boy was now doubly stunned. He had endured a small aura probe and was now reeling from the added shock of hearing that name, Kiryu. All of the Kiryu family, except the one already acting as a guardian for Cross Academy, had been killed off 4 years ago in a bloody massacre. Kain, likewise, could scarcely believe his own ears. Her resemblance to Zero Kiryu was strikingly similar. In fact, they looked so alike, they could be twins.

The very thought brought a sudden shudder to Kain's soaking form. He remembered all too well the events that had occurred barely a week ago, though it seemed like an eternity had passed. A new vampire in the Night Class had turned out to be the pureblood Shizuka Hiou, the one who had killed Zero's family. She had tried to make Yuki a vampire by promising to prevent Zero from morphing into a Level E vampire- a blood-thirsty monster with no sense or reason, only bloodlust. Zero had saved Yuki but been forced to face the unhappy truth. Not only was his twin brother Ichiru still alive, but he had asked Shizuka to change Zero instead of killing him 4 years ago, and he also wanted to kill him himself.

Unknown to all but Aido and Kain at the moment, for they told each other everything, Kuran had been the one to kill Shizuka and take her blood. Ichiru held Zero responsible and wanted him dead more than ever, but no one had seen him since he ran off after his master's death.

Attempting to adopt a light tone, and failing miserably, Kain sought at least one very important answer. "Kiryu, huh? Any relation to Zero Kiryu?"

"You don't need to play dumb with me, vampire." Her abrupt change of voice was sharp enough to snap Aido out of his stupor, and he began unlock the gates. "I can see my brother over there very clearly along with Kaname Kuran, the last of the Kuran line. If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak with them. Now." Her words were polite, but the authority with which she spoke them left no room for argument.

Regaining his composure, Kain gave one of his small smirks and silently turned around to lead Arashi back to Kaname-sama. She followed his lead and said nothing more.

Aido finally came back to himself and a silly smile burst upon his face. "How wonderful to have such a beautiful girl as yourself here at our school! May I carry your bags?"

"Thank you, but I don't take help from vampires." Arashi appeared to have her brother's hatred for vampires as well as his hair and eyes. It made the whole situation feel rather stiff and awkward, as any situation involving Zero and vampires together usually did.

Whining pitifully, Aido pressed, "Awww….give me a chance. We could be the next major fairy tale! The handsome Prince Aido and the beautiful Princess Kiryu! Happily ever after!" His flitting back and forth from one side of her to the other and back again was getting increasingly annoying.

Working extremely hard to resist the urge to punch the clingy vampire, Arashi retreated behind her mask of disinterested calm. "Happy endings don't happen." It wasn't an opinion. It was a fact of life that she had learned the hard way many times over. It was also the end of that conversation.

Kain took this opportunity to stop while still a short distance from Kaname-sama and the others. The rain had slowed to a mere drizzle and was lightly tapping away at his head. Arashi Kiryu continued forward, leaving him and Aido alone.

"Well, it's a shame that she has such a grim outlook on life," Aido piped up again. That boy could not keep his mouth shut.

Chewing the thought for a second, Kain replied, "She may be a girl, but Kiryu-san is still from a family of vampire hunters. I doubt her upbringing was that of a normal human girl."

Aido folded his arms across his chest and nodded his head in agreement. After this brief moment of seriousness, he loudly announced, "It's too wet out here! I'm ditching class and going inside where it's warm and dry, Akatsuki-kun!"

It seemed that everyone else, excluding Kaname, the guardians, and their guest, had decided upon a similar course of action. The last of their backs could be seen wandering into the front doors of the Moon Dorm. Shrugging without a care either way, Kain followed his hyperactive cousin, who had started a mad dash for the slowly closing doors, without a backwards glance at the foursome still standing in the rain.

Arashi had heard every word they had said. Obviously, she didn't pay attention to the nonsense about ditching class, but she found Akatsuki's last comments about herself very ironic. (Come to think of it, those impolite morons had never properly introduced themselves to her.) He had assumed that she was a "human girl." She was less human than these bloodsucking monsters she abhorred so vehemently. But they didn't need to know that, not yet. So she would rein her abilities in for the time-being until it was time to strike and accomplish the goals she had set out to fulfill.

Kaname looked at the thoughtful expression playing across this new girl's face and was worried. She could be thinking anything and not knowing what was killing him. He was not accustomed to being unable to find out what he wished to know. However, if she would not speak of her own free will tonight, he would be sure to find another, more suitable time and place with fewer witnesses.

"My name is Arashi Kiryu." After taking a second to allow the impact of her words to register on her audience's faces, she continued, "As you might have guessed, I am a relative of yours, Zero. In fact, I am your older twin sister."

Yuki couldn't help but exclaim, "No way! I never knew Zero had a sister!" Her excitement over the discovery was short-lived as neither Kaname nor Zero expressed any of the same sentiments.

"Neither did I," the imposing younger twin mumbled in response. Arashi's eyes strayed over to him. She didn't miss much. But he wouldn't be the only one to be shocked tonight. "The only Kiryu twin I was aware of is Ichiru, the one who betrayed our family to the pureblood Shizuka and currently wants me dead."

Zero had spoken calmly and simply, as though commenting on the weather, but his "weather report" had its intended effect. Arashi's eyes momentarily widened in surprise before her entire face immediately darkened with hatred. "Is Shizuka still alive?" she demanded. Her voice was carefully level but held an underlying dangerous edge.

"No. She was found dead here at the school about a week ago, and Ichiru disappeared," Zero clarified. He could see in his supposed sister's eyes how lucky Ichiru was that he was not present to meet her. She would have killed him on the spot.

Meanwhile, Kaname looked to be only slightly unsettled by the revelation of the new girl's ties to Zero. If Arashi had been a vampire, he would have known immediately. Being from a strong family of vampire hunters at least partially accounted for her magical presence. But it still left many questions unanswered.

She knew they were all still wondering about her. "I'm sure you all have many questions for me," she said aloud, stating the painfully obvious, "but they will have to wait for another time. For the moment, I would like to speak to the headmaster and get some sleep. Miss, perhaps you could show me to his office?"

"Oh, yes!" Yuki snapped to attention. "Follow me right this way! And please, call me Yuki!" Her smile and cheerful manner would've brightened up the dreary landscape if Arashi didn't already harbor far darker secrets, but, as it was, her stoic visage remained.

They left the two boys behind and headed towards the headmaster's house. It was late after all. However, before she had gone too far, Arashi heard Kaname's voice whisper across her mind. _Rest for now, but you and I will talk again. And I will have the answers I seek, my storm._

Suddenly, there was a loud "CRACK" behind the two girls' retreating backs. Yuki turned around in alarm and saw Kaname had crashed into the trunk of a very thick tree. She was about to rush over to her fallen prince, but a firm hand on her arm stayed her actions.

"Don't worry. He's a vampire. Something so small will barely leave a scratch." Arashi hadn't even glanced back at the scene of splintered wood where Zero was currently attempting to hide a small, evil smirk. This was too much fun for him. Yuki wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but she did as she was told and returned to leading Arashi to her adoptive father, the headmaster of Cross Academy.

Kaname was not in the least bit pleased. If he had known that he was going to be thrown into a tree for a small telepathic message, he would have risked saying everything out loud in front of Yuki. However, this did lend further support to his suspicions that Arashi was no ordinary Kiryu, although she did seem to harbor their hatred for vampires. Still, she was not to be underestimated. Kaname would watch her for the time being and learn more. Perhaps Aido and Kain, or maybe the Night class Vice-president Takuma Ichijo and Senri Shiki. It did not matter at that moment. All that mattered was getting away from Zero's amused glare and getting those stupid splinters out of his butt.

Aido stared out the window and flinched as he saw Kaname-sama thrown back by some invisible force. He knew she did it. After feeling her soul stretched out in some magical wave inside his, there was no way he could mistake the feeling. Kaname-sama appeared to be fine, except perhaps for his pride. Tonight would probably be a good night to leave him alone.

Kain, being the lazy bum that he was, had already reclined against the fluffy pillows on his bed in their shared room. He looked like he was only moments away from sleep even though they'd woken up barely an hour ago. Well, if he wanted to sleep tonight away, he was welcome to. Aido, on the other hand, had much more interesting plans in mind. How could he not? The new girl was named Arashi Kiryu.

Headmaster Cross's glasses glinted evilly, and then he exploded. "I HAVE ANOTHER DAUGHTER! I MUST BE THE LUCKIEST DAD IN THE WOR—! " Thump. Rubbing the painfully large bump on his head, he continued in a much more subdued manner, "Yes, you are certainly Zero's twin sister. (No one else would hit me that hard.)"

Yuki had left for bed, and Arashi was more than ready to follow suit and get some sleep. "You can drop the games, Headma—"

"NO! I insist that you call me 'Papa,'" the dramatic headmaster interrupted.

"No." Arashi was in no mood to deal with this sort of nonsense. Keeping her aura suppressed, meeting one of her twin brothers, finding out her other brother was a traitor, and talking to Kaname Kuran had left her completely drained and very grumpy. "Listen, Sir, I'm exhausted, so why don't you just tell me what you want to know and let me get some sleep?"

There was an immediate change in his bearing. He was no longer the clumsy, eccentric headmaster everyone knew. Here sat a gravely serious man who was ready to conduct business. "Very well, then. Let's begin with the obvious: why didn't I, Zero, or anyone else for that matter know that you existed?"

Sighing, Arashi thought for a moment. What was the best way to put this without revealing just what a monster she was? "I am the oldest of the Kiryu triplets. I was whisked away from my family the moment I was born to be trained. I had… unusual gifts that would make me one of the greatest vampire hunters alive, if properly tutored. My family wouldn't have been able to do that, so they gave me up and never spoke of me again."

"Why are you here? Looking for a happy ending to a sad childhood?"

This was where things got a bit tricky for the huntress. No one could be allowed to know her plans yet. It would only cause trouble. However, the headmaster had given her the perfect way out of that particular question with his add-on, so she replied, "Happy endings don't happen, but I'm willing to open up a new chapter in my story where I know my brother."

"Interesting." The cool, calculating man sitting at the desk before her obviously didn't believe her little half-truth, but he didn't press the subject further. "I only have one more question for you tonight…" His face suddenly regained its original beaming smile and rosy tint. "Will you join the Cross Academy Disciplinary Committee, be a school guardian, and protect the Night Class's secret with Yuki and Zero?" The man. Had practically. Squealed.

It took everything in her tired body not to kill him on the spot. _Zero, I feel your pain,_ she muttered in her head. However, she was desperate to get some sleep and refused to think about the implications of accepting this role. "Sure." _Now, let me get some sleep!_


	3. Ice and Fire

((I really need a beta reader...i wrote this story after reading the first three novels, and when i was just getting into the story. for that, names may be wrong. please bare with me and tell my when that is such and i will take notice. be kind and review. constructive critisims is appreshiated but flames are not. i will likely ignore them. My spelling stinks and grammer is worse. enjoy

p.s i do not own Vampire Knight. i only Own Arashi))

_Fire and Ice  
_

_Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favor fire.  
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice._

Robert Frost  


**Chapter 3 **

With Yuki fast asleep, it became Zero's job to escort his sister to her room. Her control was slipping and her aura was seeping out into her surroundings again, but, strangely enough, it didn't bother Zero in the least, even at such close range with such a high intensity. In fact, the feeling was comforting and familiar, like a long lost friend, or twin sister perhaps.

What was he thinking? Perhaps? From the moment he'd laid eyes upon Arashi, there'd been no doubt in his mind that she was his sister, despite his outward suspicion. Something about the immediate closeness he'd felt with her, although the fact that she looked so much like him didn't hurt. She was almost a silver-haired, gray-eyed, slightly taller version of Yuki, but she was unmistakably related to Zero.

"What did they do to you?" Zero asked bluntly. He'd just "happened" to be passing by the door of the headmaster's office during Arashi's interrogation and had "accidentally" heard everything.

Sighing resignedly, Arashi supposed she owed her twin at least a little more of the truth than anyone else. "The people who trained me? Well, they wanted me to be the ultimate vampire killer, so they made me into the perfect assassin: a monster worse than those she hunted. I suppose, in the end, you can't kill without becoming more despicable than your prey." Her voice did not change and her body did not tremble with anger or fear, but Zero could feel her absolute _fury _blaze through her aura.

Finding some irony in their situation, the boy allowed a grim smile to appear. "Funny, isn't it, that the last members of a family of vampire hunters are a traitor, a monster, and even a real vampire?"

She had felt the vampiric bloodlust in him from the start, but it still stung to know that her little brother regarded himself as an abomination, not unlike her own feelings toward herself. "Not tonight, but soon, we will talk more about your 'conversion,'" She steeled her expression against the look she knew Zero must have been giving her. "I cannot make you human again, but I may be able to eliminate the risk of your becoming a Level E vampire."

A mixed look of disbelief and a little hope crossed Zero's face before he feel back behind his usual grim mask. "Another time, then." They had reached Arashi's new room. For one awkward moment, Zero wondered how he ought to bid his sister good night. After a second of indecision, he settled upon a light embrace and a quickly whispered, "Night."

With his back quickly disappearing down the dark hallway, Arashi released a deep sigh of relief. Although she'd been begging for sleep, in actuality, her fatigue came from restraining her power in an environment full of vampires. Whenever it perceived a threat to itself, or her since she _was_ it, it attempted to break out and take care of whatever was wrong.

Sleep wouldn't help now. What Arashi needed was something she had used many times before- a distraction to keep her power busy until it could tell that the vampires here posed no threat, yet.

She opened the door.

The change in temperature was immediately noticeable. Her breath was visible in the air of her small dorm room. Suddenly, ice swept through the small area covering everything, including Arashi's feet. She knew who it was, of course. Besides the fact that she just knew many things, one can't poke around someone else's soul without recognizing that person later.

"As entertaining as this is, Aido, I am in severe need of sleep." Her shoulders slumped with an invisible weight, presumably from exhaustion, and her eyelids drooped dangerously low over her dimmed gaze. "How did you find me anyway? I was only just assigned this room."

A bright smile lit Aido's face as he replied, "The same way you knew it was me, but…" Abruptly, the smile fled and was replaced with a dangerous scowl. "I am not happy. Whatever you did to me, it won't stop. I can't think about anything else but that feeling of having you reach into my heart, like a burning sensation. But I want more."

This was not good. This was part of why Arashi was such a dangerous killer. The power in her, it acted like a lantern that would attract bugs out for a night stroll. The bugs would see the light and know that it would kill them, but it was so alluring. They still had to fly straight into it, and then they died. In her case, vampires were the night bugs. Just sending out her aura alone would be enough to draw many in, but for someone who had been directly hit, he would need a tremendous amount of self-control to break her power's hold on him.

Aido had first seemed so happy and a little, well, dim, but the Aido slowly inching towards Arashi at this moment acted like a completely different person. Where he had been cheerful and flirtatious, he was now cold and demanding. This foolishness needed to end soon. She just needed a second to ensure another week or so of relative safety for everyone else. But Aido showed no signs of slowing his advance.

"You won't pierce me again, will you?" Aido slurred into her ear. Even his breath held the frigid lack of warmth he had spread throughout the room. "Well…" His bright smile returned on cue, much as the headmaster's had not long before. "That's okay. I don't really want it that much anyway. It kind of hurt." Arashi was about to release a very large pent-up breath when Aido changed right back into a cold-hearted, hungry vampire. "However," he continued, sliding his mouth down the girl's neck, "I do want a taste."

His fangs were showing, and they were about ready to puncture her skin and release the flow of blood that lay beneath. Arashi couldn't speak. Everything in her was fighting against herself. She wanted to shout at Aido to run for his life before she lost it, but she couldn't spare the slightest bit of her mind in this struggle.

Finally, she lost. Well, not entirely, but the surge of power, which was by this time running on full blast thanks to the threat of having her blood sucked, enveloped Arashi's body in the flames that normally ran through her blood in a form of energy. Aido was thrown back against the far wall, which wasn't very far away considering the small size of an average dorm room. Somehow, she had managed to make sure that she didn't kill him. Every inch of ice melted away into steam before quickly disappearing.

In the midst of all this madness, Arashi reached for the small silver dagger always hidden in her right boot. Aido had pulled the last straw when he leaned in to bite her. There were no restraints left and something had to be done.

So, she stabbed herself. Plunging that little dagger right through her heart, she watched her flames rush to prevent any blood from touching the floor. They stopped the intense bleeding coming from her chest, and within moments, Arashi was able to stand and pull her dagger out of her torso without feeling any real pain. It was only the first stroke that hurt in this semi-normal routine, and her fire would be too busy healing her back to full strength for the next week to respond so violently to the nearby vampires. With any luck, it would have accepted them as peaceful by the time she was well and another "distraction" wouldn't be necessary for it.

Still tightly clutching her weapon, Arashi stepped over to where Aido lay unconscious. All of a sudden, she stumbled and fell to her knees beside his motionless form. Carelessness. Although she was practically impossible to kill, even _her_ body had to hit limits of some kind after being stabbed in the heart.

Using the dagger as a makeshift smelling salt, Arashi held it under the vampire's nose and watched his eyes slowly flutter open as he inhaled the scent of blood.

Aido looked so innocent and confused. "What happened?" he murmured, groaning in his efforts to sit up and finding many new bruises. His gaze fell upon the silver metal still resting in the hand of the girl kneeling beside him. "Are you going to finish that?"

Suppressing a look of disgust, Arashi simply stated, "Help yourself." The vampire snatched the dagger away and without a second thought, began to lick it clean. "You idiot, I could've killed you. And that last burst of power will probably lead every vampire in the area right to me," she reprimanded.

But Aido's mind was far too focused on the blood he was licking to hear a word she said. Its taste was everything her aura had suggested and more: it held the energy of the fire she was a part of, but at the same time, it was intoxicatingly rich and calming. Nothing Aido had ever had to drink before came even close to paralleling this flavor, much less surpassing it. What was more, despite the miniscule amount on the stained knife, he found himself completely full and his bloodlust gone by the time it was clean.

Finally taking his eyes off his snack and glancing up at his prey-turned-rescuer, Aido saw an impossible depth of weariness and sorrow covering her face. Placing the dagger on the ground, he tentatively inquired, "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine." Aido looked entirely unconvinced, so Arashi attempted a small smile. It looked as forced and pained as she felt.

Acting on a sudden, irresistible impulse, Aido wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a strong embrace where he was seated on the floor. Like any good hunter, she recoiled against the unwanted contact with the enemy, but he held her fast.

Forcing her trained instincts down, Arashi silently willed her limbs to relax. The added muscle tension wasn't helping her injured body at all. Calming the large parts of her mind that wanted to kill this vampire on the spot, she leaned a little closer into the front of his uniform.

Aido was still busy trying to figure out why in the night he'd grabbed Arashi. He'd just met her, she was Zero Kiryu's sister (and the vampire-hating school guardian would probably kill him when he found out about this), and she had just survived stabbing herself in the heart. The wound had been painfully visible. He might have even glimpsed one of her ribs through the hole. This situation, a vampire trying to comfort a vampire hunter, made no sense at all, but it was happening.

Maybe it had something to do with drinking her blood. Perhaps there was something in it that acted like a drug, reducing his common sense to a whisper in the back of his mind. If that was true, and he had only tasted a few drops, Aido could only imagine what a long drink from Arashi's neck would have done.

Then, Aido was sitting on the floor of his bedroom, surrounded by a small circle of fire, and grasping at thin air. Reverting to his serious persona, he muttered with a slightly evil glint in his eyes, "Well, who knew? It looks like the girl can teleport with fire. No wonder she didn't fight me… she was just building up enough concentration to send me away. No fair." A small chuckle escaped him and woke his cousin from a very light slumber.

"Aido, where've you been?" Kain yawned.

Plastering a happy smile on, he replied, "Is Kaname-sama still mad about that tree thing?" Aido was obviously dodging the question, but Kain let it slide and shrugged in response.

Getting up and walking around a bit, Aido was instantly struck with inspiration. Books of all colors and sizes lay scattered on one of the two simple, wooden desks pushed against the wall. Aido sifted through all the research journals until he came upon a buried volume of vampire legends and lore. Carelessly flipping through the pages, he nonchalantly called across to his cousin, who was _still_ lying on his bed, "Kain, what do you remember about elementals?"


	4. Bloodlust

((I really need a beta reader...i wrote this story after reading the first three novels, and when i was just getting into the story. for that, names may be wrong. please bare with me and tell my when that is such and i will take notice. be kind and review. constructive critisims is appreshiated but flames are not. i will likely ignore them. My spelling stinks and grammer is worse. enjoy

p.s i do not own Vampire Knight. i only Own Arashi))

Chapter 4:

It was Arashi's first night of "Guardian Duty." Day classes had been unbelievably boring, and the cold front that followed Zero wherever he went seemed to work the same way with her. The other students stayed away, except for Yuki, who took it upon herself to be as friendly as possible to the new girl.

Now, it was once again time for the nightly squeals and "Kyaaaaa's," and there was no storm tonight to drive them inside. Well, none yet, as Arashi was seriously considering summoning fire from the sky just to get rid of the colossal headache so many high-pitched noises were giving her.

"Must not kill screaming fan girls, must not kill screaming fan girls…" she muttered under her breath like a mantra. And they were definitely pressing their luck at this point.

The gates finally swung open and the Night class strode out in all their other-worldly beauty, and the screams and squeals culminated into a deafening roar. Arashi couldn't take it anymore.

Gathering up a very small portion of energy, she focused it into one very important, very loud word: "QUIET!!!!!!" Everyone froze. Turning a glare worthy of a ravaging wild fire upon those idiotic, fanatic fans, her voice dripping with venom, she ordered, "All Day class students inside, now."

There was no room for argument. After one final glance at the purely evil look in the new guardian's eyes, every single fan girl (and a few boys) sprinted back to the dormitories.

"Good job, Arashi! Way to keep order!" Yuki shouted across the courtyard. She had never seen the Day students respond that obediently, not even to Zero. Well, he came close, once, but it looked like this was one thing his big sister was better at than him.

"Please, no more shouting," Arashi whispered as she reached up a cool hand to ease the burning heat on her forehead. Small fevers sometimes accompanied her healing process for a day or two, but she couldn't afford to let anyone else know about that. Of course, she was already taking a pretty big leap of faith, trusting Aido to have the common sense not to mention her personal "distraction" to anyone else.

Meanwhile, the path of the hand moving towards her forehead was interrupted as another hand, much larger than her own, placed itself on her brow first.

"Wow, you're burning up!" that annoyingly peppy voice exclaimed. "You must be really sick if you couldn't even sense my prese…yluch!"

Aido's throat was caught in the extremely tight grip of the hand Arashi had been raising up to her face before his interference.

Choking this vampire, one she still needed to hurt for invading her room and personal space last night, was acting as a small bit of stress relief, but Arashi knew she'd be better off once he was in class and far away from her. "Keep your dirty vampire hands off me, or I'll reduce you to a pile of ashes."

After a short flight through the air, Aido landed in front of a very disgruntled Kain. "Come on," he drawled, lending a hand up to his cousin, who was gingerly rubbing his neck. "We're going to be late, and Kaname-sama doesn't look too happy."

Glancing over at the dorm president, Aido saw that Kaname was indeed sending an unusually strong death glare in his direction. So, after a small wave and wink at Arashi, who was ignoring him very convincingly, he dashed off with Kain, once again, following slowly behind.

Meanwhile, Zero and Arashi had turned back to their official duties as guardians. Several of the vampires looked more than a little perturbed over the new girl's treatment of one of their own.

Clutching the Bloody Rose gun in his pocket, a weapon capable of killing vampires, Zero shouted, "All of you, get to class now!

Softly fingering the handle of the dagger hidden in her left sleeve, Arashi added, "Tardiness will not be tolerated." Even with an immensely low-level aura, the vampires still outside knew that attempting to fight this girl would be a mistake.

As they grumbled and headed towards the classrooms, Arashi directed her attention to her fellow guardians, and found Kaname Kuran's hand resting on the head of one of them.

However, Zero, predictably, had already started making his way over to the pureblood, so Arashi figured she could turn in for the night and give her raging headache a chance to go away.

Five or six steps later: "Ditching your first night on the job?" Kuran was right behind her.

Stopping and turning to face the vampire, knowing she'd probably regret this later, Arashi half-heartedly asked, "Didn't Zero send you off to join the other blood-sucking freaks, Kuran?"

She was determined to make things difficult, even in her obviously weakened state. Brushing aside her insult and ill-concealed attempt to get rid of him, he continued, "Yes, but I thought tonight would be ideal for us to have our little chat. And it's 'Kaname.'"

"Not tonight, Kuran." The other night she'd claimed to be tired while really needing to stab herself to distract her fire powers. Tonight she was actually tired and feeling like collapsing. Such a severe injury usually required at least ten hours of sleep the night after.

Kaname softly grabbed Arashi's chin as she dipped her head and made to head back to her dorm again. Tilting her face to look back into his, he noticed just how pale her skin was.

"I think sooner would be better than later, if you're up to it," he tried to convince her.

Arashi grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from her chin. What was with the vampires here? Did this "peaceful" environment give them the delusional thought that it was okay to go around touching and hugging vampire hunters? If either Aido or Kuran had tried this anywhere but at Cross Academy, Arashi would have tossed their lifeless bodies into a filthy river by now.

Zero and Yuki were nowhere to be seen, so Arashi conceded. "Make it quick."

Under the eaves of the trees by the Moon Dormitory's gate, Kaname stated his case. "I know you're an Elemental, and you know I'm a pureblood. What are you doing here at Cross? Why did the Vampire Hunters' Council send you here?"

It was extremely tempting to throw the arrogant, stuck up, I-know-all vampire into another tree, but Arashi could play it cool if Kuran could. "Correct, correct, and what makes you think the Council sent me?"

Suddenly, a book seemed to magically appear from behind Kaname's back. He opened it to a bookmarked page and began to read, "Elementals: among the most dangerous of foes to vampire-kind; known to be born every few generations to families holding strong magic; ageless; almost impossible to kill; due to almost all being born to vampire hunting families, are known to be the most powerful weapons held by the Vampire Hunters' Council." After a short pause, during which Kaname allowed Arashi to clearly see why he had made the assumption he did, he finished with a flourish, "Alberto Roffmansky's Revised Edition of the Vampire Encyclopedia."

What Arashi wouldn't have given to tear this smart aleck limb from limb on the spot, but she kept her composure. "It's true that I have been a tool of the Council for most of my life, but when my teacher, the Council's other Elementals, were murdered, I decided to take my leave."

This little bit of information grabbed Kaname's attention. "Who would have the power to kill a group of Elementals? I doubt even I could do that."

The young girl couldn't help but smirk a smidge, but she tossed her hair to hide her face with a swift turn of the head. Arashi knew for a fact that Kuran could never hope to defeat one Elemental, let alone a small group, on his own power.

Time slowly crawled along as they stood there, but it felt like hours had passed to Arashi's throbbing head. She was starting to have a little more difficulty staying upright, and there was no way she was going to pass out in front of Kuran. Go unconscious in front of a pack of ravenous wolves? Sure, why not? In front of Kuran? Not a chance.

"Well, if that's all, Kuran, I'll be getting some shut-eye." This was it. She could finally escape. For a hunter, she sure did seem to run away a lot.

"Wait, Arashi, you still haven't answered my question," Kaname pointed out in that voice of his, dripping with authority and superiority. He was used to getting his way when he used that voice.

And it was beginning to annoy Arashi almost as much as Aido's antics. (Although, she might be able to get used to those. This she wanted to beat out of him.) "When you have enough propriety to address me as Kiryu we'll talk more." She walked back to her room, and this time no one tried to stop her.

Just as she reached for her door knob, however, the door opened, seemingly, of its own accord, until Kuran's head popped out from behind it. "Good evening, Kiryu. I just realized that I did have another matter to discuss with you."

"What is it with you vampires and barging into people's rooms uninvited?!" Arashi somehow yelled without raising her voice above a whisper.

Kaname's eyes flashed dangerously. "Has this happened before?" That would explain a lot.

"Many times," Arashi nonchalantly shot back, walking in, throwing her uniform jacket on the floor, and flopping on her back on the bed.

The confusion on Kaname's face was evident as he pressed, "Last night, there was an unfamiliar smell of blood in the air. I could only suppose it was yours and I would like to know what happened."

Kuran was always so sure in his assumptions, but at least he didn't seem sure enough to make Arashi suppose that Aido had spilled one of her secrets. "My blood, you say?" Withdrawing her blade, she drew a thin line along her left forearm, a tiny sliver of red barely visible. "Did it smell like this?"

She had the control of a hunter, not a hint of pain leaking through her stoic exterior, Kaname would give her that. The smell was strong, and he could almost taste the power behind it in the air. "Yes, it was you. How did it happen?" he repeated.

"A slip of the knife." Alright, that wasn't completely untrue. Arashi had "slipped" the knife into her heart. Still, letting him know about this could make things messy later. She needed to throw him off the scent, or, in this case, maybe onto it. "The way you're staring at it, I'm guessing you want a taste."

It wasn't a guess. She knew. Anyone could have looked at Kaname's eyes at that moment and seen the bloodlust. He stepped closer to the bed and the beautiful blood, ready for the taking.

"One thing, though: with your being a pureblood, it might be safer if you just lick the knife." Arashi held up the silver dagger to Kuran, the same dagger she had stabbed herself with and allowed Aido to lick. Oh, she'd let Aido lick it clean. Had she washed it after that? Well, that wasn't important at that moment. Besides, blood was blood to these monsters.

Night blood! She had to stop at least thinking of them as monsters. After all, her brother was one, and as long as they didn't go around stealing blood, she had no real reason to hate them. That was the Council's job.

The dagger was long gone from Arashi's hold. Kaname had spent a few moments staring at the magical red fluid glistening on the metal blade, but then he'd promptly licked away at it like a cat with a fresh bowl of cream. When the knife was clean, he carefully returned it to its owner.

"If you don't mind, you may be nocturnal, but I'm not." That was clearly Kaname's cue to go. But he stood there a moment more, hovering over her pale body, limp on the mattress.

Her blood, the precious few drops he'd drunk, made him feel so full, and at the same time so empty. He couldn't have his dear girl, Yuki. It pained him every day, but here, at last, was something that might ease that pain. He shouldn't do this to a human, even an Elemental, but it wouldn't hurt Arashi much, and he wouldn't leave any lasting damage.

Without s sound, Kaname eased himself onto the bed. Her exposed neck and the promise of her fire blood was just too much for him. He leaned across her body and bared his fangs at the vein whose pulsing flow was calling out to him.

"Kuran." She was still very awake, and that wasn't a greeting. That was a warning.

He slipped away from Arashi's body and stood. She still hadn't moved, but Kaname's heightened senses could feel how hard she was working to not kill him at that moment.

She grinned a little as she reprimanded, "You should really think more before you go for the nearest unwilling blood donor. What would Yuki have thought if she'd walked in on that?"

Arashi was right! What if Yuki had seen that, and… wait a second. How in the night did Arashi know that Kaname liked Yuki? That sneaky little hunter read his mind!

While transporting the fuming Kuran back to his room was a very agreeable option, Arashi knew she'd pay for letting her powers loose after such a threatening encounter with a sleepless night of reigning them back in. Besides, he was already walking out.

"I suppose I'll see you later, Kiryu," Kaname turned at the door and called back before leaving the room.

"I wonder why Kaname wasn't in class," vice-president Ichijo said to no one in particular.

This simple statement earned him a rather harsh glare from Ruka Souen, a very devout follower of Kaname-sama. Sure, everyone was thinking the same thing, but no one else had been stupid enough to voice it and give way to the possibility that maybe he had found something more important to attend to than his fellow vampires.

Ichijo mysteriously pulled out a volume of manga and pretended to be absorbed in it. Well, he didn't have to pretend for too long, and thus, he avoided Ruka's searing gaze.

Aido was feeling mischievous for some reason. "Maybe he went to welcome the new Kiryu!"

Many of his comrades were appalled. How could he suggest such a disgusting notion so happily? Kain shook his head. Here they went again.

Just about to make a dash for his room to escape the angry mob of vampires, Aido froze. He smelled something. It was so faint no one would detect it unless the scent had been imprinted on their memory at close range. He knew this particular smell.

Suddenly, Kaname-sama came into view. Souen breathed a sigh of relief, and Shiki tapped Ichijo on the shoulder, letting him know the coast was safe and he could put away the book.

No one asked the president where he'd been. They just followed him up to the dorm in silence, but Aido's mind was not so quiet. What was the scent of Arashi's blood doing on Kaname-sama's breath? Well, Kain was waiting for him to come up for bed right now, and the last thing he needed to do was arouse suspicion. But he _would_ find out later.

Up in their room, Aido's desk, previously holding scientific journals and articles, was overflowing with every legend, myth, and scrap of information on Elementals. He'd finally finished all of it, and it had left no doubt in his mind.

Kain was almost asleep already, but he was still his cousin, and Aido felt he should know what they were being watched by. Besides, they shared everything they knew, with the exception of that thing Arashi would kill Aido for if he ever told anyone. "Kain, Arashi Kiryu is an Elemental."

Lazily opening one eye, Kain glanced at his cousin. Aido wasn't in joking mode. He was dead serious. Elementals were more like fairy tales than anything else to Kain, but he believed Aido, and that meant that the new Kiryu was packing some major power.

"Should we tell Kaname-sama?" Kain knew the obvious answer and was surprised to find Aido take a moment to actually think about it.

Kaname-sama probably already knew. In fact, that would explain why he was near her earlier, even though it still didn't explain the blood. "Yes. We'll tell him tomorrow morning."

Aido finally abandoned his books and jumped in bed, toying with the idea of popping in on Arashi and asking her what had happened. There were still a good two or three hours until dawn. On the other hand, she'd kill him if he came into her room again, especially with how sick she had looked.


End file.
